News From Around the Web
> Buffalo hospitals face staff shortage as unexpected snowstorms continue to batter the region. Staffers are either snowed in at home or stopped from coming to work by travel bans, Buffalo Business First reports. Article
> Steward Health Care System will keep the struggling Quincy Medical Center open as late as Feb. 4 to comply with a Massachusetts law that requires hospitals to give 90 days' notice and hold a public hearing before closing, according to The Boston Globe. Article
> Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan Gibson visited Tennessee VA hospitals this week as he pledged to keep scrutiny on efforts to correct failures in quality care and to shorten wait times for patient appointments, USA Today reports. Article
Practice Management News
> The number of American patients with diabetes topped 21 million in 2010, according to an April study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, but new research published in the same journal suggests that as many as three in 10 cases currently go undiagnosed. Article
> The current medical malpractice environment has grown slightly less treacherous for doctors over the past seven to 10 years, with payouts falling and premiums remaining relatively flat, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But this stabilization of the market has not been due to traditional liability reforms such as those capping damages or scrutinizing qualifications of expert witnesses. Article
Anti-Fraud News
> Hospitals that received manufacturer credits for replacing cardiac medical devices didn't pass the savings along to Medicare through required claims adjustments, an Office of Inspector General audit found. Article
And Finally... Shadowboxing. Article